Special Snow Goose Quality Hunts

The Program Fraser-Skagit snow geese: an international resource Important waterfowling reminders to hunters Be sure of your quarry Other rules governing this hunt on Fir Island Other special conditions applying to this hunt Avian Influenza and Fraser-Skagit Snow Geese What hunters will find on this Fir Island snow goose hunt Some finer points of Fir Island snow goose hunting Driving Directions Fir Island Hunt Units and Parking Maps Snow Goose Special Hunt Drawing Results Snow geese flocks taking flight from the Hayton-Fir Island Snow Goose Reserve. Credit: Ginger Holser, WDFW photo Snow Goose Special Hunt Drawing Results Welcome This Webpage is devoted to the Snow Goose Quality Hunt Project on Fir Island and northern Port Susan Bay, and provides for both participating hunters and other interested persons information on the scope of this hunt and rules governing it as well as conditions hunters can expect and tips for gearing up. It is a limited entry hunt in that only waterfowlers chosen from among those who applied may participate. Funding for the project comes from the State Migratory Bird Stamp Program. WDFW’s Wildlife and Fish and Wildlife Enforcement programs are coordinating this effort, which is aimed at restoring traditional safe and ethical methods to snow goose hunting. It also is intended to open to hunters privately owned land that ordinarily might be closed to the general hunting public. It is taking place with the cooperation of several local landowner/growers and the residents of Fir Island and the Stanwood area, with support from the Skagit County Public Works Department, the Skagit County Parks and Recreation Department, the Washington Waterfowl Association, the Rexville Grange and Diking District No. 3. If you have comments about this hunt or suggestions for the future, drop us a line at snowgoosehunt@dfw.wa.gov. We hope hunters participating will find this special opportunity an enjoyable and rewarding traditional style hunt. The Program Two “green” fields in this picture have six hunt units on them averaging between 12-20 acres each. Credit: Paul DeBruyn, WDFW photo.  During the week for which hunters are drawn, they and their party will have exclusive use of a multi-acre tract of private farmland, situated on the western third of Fir Island and northern Port Susan Bay. This locale is intensively used by over-wintering snow geese. Adjacent no-shooting reserves serve as the daily focal points for the recruitment of flocks of geese from their night roosts on Skagit and Port Susan bays. The farmed lands on the island and elsewhere in the lower Skagit and Stillagaumish river valleys are a major winter food source for these birds. This program allows access a significant portion of agricultural lands in the heart of their feeding grounds. Lying under the geese’s flight paths, these fields have been prepared with the planting of a “green” cover crop of either winter wheat or winter rye, to which, the birds are drawn. The off-day closures will encourage the geese to recruit to them. These hunt units have been laid out to provide “elbow-room” for hunt parties. They will still allow and in some cases require hunt groups to cooperate with hunt parties around them including the sharing ditch lines as blinds, setting out decoy strings and spreads as well as coming and going and retrieving downed birds. Fraser-Skagit snow geese: an international resource The snow geese over wintering in Northwest Washington comprise a unique population of intercontinental travelers that are shared by three counties, the U. S., Canada and Russia. While their off-season home during the northern winter is here in the moderate climate of southwestern British Columbia and Northwest Washington on the deltas of three major rivers, these snow geese make an arduous annual flight to Russia’s Chuckchi Sea waters to breed on Wrangel Island off the north coast of Siberia. These are lesser snow geese. Average mature adults weigh about 4-5 pounds, stand about two feet high and have a wing-span of 58-59 inches. They are called the Fraser-Skagit population, because the same identification collaring/banding studies that disclosed details of their migration timing and itinerary, found that snow geese of this group had a high fidelity to one nesting site on Wrangel Island and to one wintering area, here. They stay apart from the other snow geese aggregations that nest separately on Wrangel and winter in California. There is little exchange of breeding birds from one population to the other. This makes them a discrete population, vulnerable to adverse influences that their relative isolation can make difficult to overcome. While appearing to be thriving today, it was only two decades ago that this population seemingly was on the brink of collapse, having suffering the repeated loss of significant numbers of goslings to the harsh Arctic summer weather. Creation of the Fir Island / Hayton Snow Goose Reserve, a respite zone from hunting and later winter disturbance, was borne out of concerns for their vulnerability while here and a recognition that their reproductive success was inextricably tied to over wintering conditions. The birds needed to rebuild their energy through the winter months to be fit enough to make the long flight and then immediately nest. A rigorous management standard setting a minimum overall population with a strong percentage of juveniles as a prerequisite for holding a hunting season also was imposed in the late 1980s. These and other protective measures brought the birds through a period of relative decline and now it seems that changes in the global climate with moderation or warming in Arctic nesting environs is prompting a swing in the opposite direction: an abundance of snow geese. Once a grazer of native delta salt marsh plants, especially the three-square bulrush, changing of the bay fronts here has forced these adaptable, voracious eaters to turn their attention to another source of sustenance, winter “green” crops on farmed lands on Fir Island and in the Stillagaumish River delta. As their numbers increase, they put more pressure on winter cover crops on nearshore farmlands, sometimes doing irreparable damage in late winter and early spring to crops of winter rye grass and winter wheat. Wildlife managers here will be challenged in the future to not only encourage responsible hunting and viewing of these birds, but to develop ways to mitigate their impacts on farming and the vitality of lower Skagit and Stillagaumish Valley agriculture. [ Back to Top ] Important waterfowling reminders to hunters The rules: This hunting opportunity is governed by Washington’s general waterfowl hunting regulations. You may hunt any legal waterfowl in these units, not just snow geese. Road hunting banned: On Fir Island proper, hunting waterfowl within 100 feet of any public paved road is now expressly prohibited by law. This regulation applies to all waterfowl hunters everywhere on the island. Use good shooting judgment: Don’t high shoot (sky bust) and risk crippling a bird. Know the effective limits of your firearm (its choke and shot pattern), ammunition and your own shooting skill. Hunters are responsible for exercising due care and good judgment to ensure that their shots bring down birds in their immediate vicinity or hunt unit. Don’t trespass: Arrangements have been made with some adjacent private owners for access to their lands for the retrieval of downed birds. But in this hunt as well as everywhere else in Washington, going onto someone’s land without permission is illegal. Safety zones: Observe all safety zones around homes and out buildings; do not shoot into them from a unit boundary. Also, hunters may not carry a loaded firearm into any safety zone. Decoy removal: On lands owned or controlled by WDFW all decoys sets and materials must be removed at the end of hunting each day. The right ammo: Hunt with ammunition containing non-toxic shot of a size that is effective for large bodied, thickly feathered waterfowl. Enforcement: The rules and regulations governing snow goose hunting will be strictly enforced on Fir Island as elsewhere. Anyone violating general waterfowl hunting regulations or conditions specific to this snow goose hunt will be subject to citation and revocation of future snow goose hunting privileges. [ Back to Top ] Hunters: Be sure of your quarry Figure 1. Adult trumpeter swan Figure 2. Adult snow goose Swans have long necks in relation to their bodies, black bills and all white plumage except for “rust” stained heads. Snow geese are smaller, have shorter necks, rose colored bills and vivid black wing tips. Credits: Ginger Holser, WDFW photos.  Swans in the area: There are protected bird species resembling snow geese in the area. Several thousand trumpeter and tundra swans reside in the lower Skagit Valley and on bayfronts from mid-fall through spring. Hunters are cautioned to always use care to insure that the white or gray bird they are about to shoot is a snow goose, not a trumpeter or tundra swan. Waterfowlers must be able to discriminate between mature or juvenile swans and their snow goose counterparts. That can be a challenge for inexperienced hunters. While adult swans and snow geese are white or predominately so, their young-of-the-year offspring also share the same plumage coloration: gray. Another confounding coloration characteristic shared by these swans and snow geese, young and old, is the “rust colored” head, they both get from feeding in iron-rich wetlands. A medium size, white to grayish bird with vivid black wing tips is a snow goose. But don’t use this visual cue alone. Learn to differentiate these species by other characteristics such as neck length in relation to body, the color of their bills, frequency of wing beats and individual species vocalizations or calls. Veteran hunters and bird enthusiasts know from the far-off sounds they hear, what birds are coming their way long before they get close-in visual confirmation. This expertise comes with experience and is a mark of a good and conscientious hunter. Under both state and federal laws it is not legal to harm swans under any circumstances. Also ingestion of spent lead shot found in the environment has been identified as the cause of death of thousands of trumpeter swans in Northwest Washington in the past ten years. It is critical for all waterfowl and even upland bird hunters to use ammunition containing non-toxic shot. Web Sources: for Western Washington swan lead poisoning WDFW: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/gametrails/2002/swan_lead.htm [ Back to Top ] Other rules governing this hunt on Fir Island Right of use: Successful applicant snow goose hunters and their guests have exclusive use of their specific assigned hunt unit for a week during the days specified on their authorization. Weekly closure: The other four days of the week these hunt units are closed to all hunting access. Persons who enter these properties to hunt will be cited for hunting in a closed season. Decoy hunting mandatory: All hunters on these special quality units must display and hunt over “snow goose-like” decoys intended specifically to lure these birds. There will no exceptions. (See the section below on permissible decoys.) No excavations: No pit blinds or recesses in the ground for portable blinds may be dug on any private lands enrolled in this program. Also do not cut into ditch embankments or weaken any ditch top line. Where a ditch line or drainage trench is included in the hunt unit, hunters may stand in them. You may erect a temporary, free-standing, framed blind or use any convenient natural shrub vegetation located within the shooting areas as screening provided you do not cut or up-root and relocated it. Motor vehicle operation: Cars, trucks, motor cycles and ATVs are banned from all farm fields in this program. Only authorized participant vehicles may be parked in designated areas off public roadways. Registered disabled hunters contacting the department in advance may arrange for facilitated access by light vehicle in accordance with department regulations. Other special conditions applying to this hunt Hunter responsibility for notification: Successful applicants must check in with the WDFW hunt coordinator at least one week prior to the first hunt day of the week. If you cannot be present on a given hunt day, your unit will remain vacant. If hunters fail to check in by the required time, hunt units will be assigned to other hunters from the stand-by or on-call list (more than 1,000 applicants) who were not originally drawn. Successful applicant must always be present: Hunters who are drawn for a snow goose quality unit must be present at all times each day their party is in the hunt unit. Hunters must have their special snow goose quality hunt authorization permit with them and present it if requested. No commercialization: Special quality snow goose hunt authorizations are not valid for commercial uses. Assignment of this authorization: Hunters who are drawn for a snow goose quality unit may not give or assign any hunt days in their week to a third party. Standby substitutions: A randomly ordered list of applicants who were not drawn for initial assignment has been created. If a unit is unclaimed or is surrendered, the person whose name is at the top of the stand-by list will be offered the vacated unit. In addition, a day-of-hunt drawing will be conducted when there are unfilled units. This day-of-hunt lottery will include all hunters who show up at a designated site prior to participate that day. You do not need a Snow Goose Quality Hunt authorization to participate. If you are interested in hunting through this lottery system, please call the WDFW Snow Goose Hunting Hotline (360) 466-4345 ext.245. Party size: Four is the maximum number of persons that may be in a hunting party at any time on a quality hunt unit. Anyone who is hunting must have a snow goose written authorization to hunt in their possession for recording harvested birds. Non-hunting persons may attend, but they count towards the maximum party size. Rotating parties: As long as all participants observe the daily bag and possession limits for waterfowl including snow geese, no fee is charged for access and parties are limit to four or fewer persons at any time, there is no overall restriction or limit to the number of persons invited by the successful applicant to hunt with them on any hunt day. However, all hunters must have snow goose written authorizations to hunt in their possession for recording harvested birds. Growers access: Landowner/growers have administrative access rights at any time to their properties to do special or routine winter farming tasks such as managing drainage. They have indicated they will schedule and do any work on off days to minimize conflicts with hunters. Retrieval of birds from private lands: Unless otherwise indicated, hunters do not have authorization to trespass on adjacent private lands to get downed birds. Also some Fir Island property owners do not want to be disturbed. With the aid of effective decoy sets and calls, the best hunting practice is to use good shooting judgment to ensure that you bring down a bird in your hunt unit or an adjacent public unit onto which you may go. Where property lines are posted with “May Retrieve Birds” signs, it is okay to cross, but only to pick up dead or crippled birds. Do not hunt or shoot at birds on or from these lands. Boundaries posted with “No Trespassing” signs are entirely off-limits. If, despite a hunter’s best efforts, a downed bird does land on private property where he or she may not legally retrieve it, the bald eagles on Fir Island will scavenge them. Ground shooting: So-called “ground-sluicing” of birds is unethical and dangerous. In doing so a hunter can put members of their or another hunting party at risk. The only exception would be to kill a cripple to recover it, but the shooter must be absolutely sure the down range or background is clear and safe. If not, the shooter could be charged with reckless endangerment. Litter control: With the variety of materials that can be used as decoys, there is the potential for them to become litter. It’s important that you make every effort to retrieve all trash, shell casings, plastics, paper and blow-away items from adjacent hunt units before you leave. Regarding the shell casings, dairy farmers recently reported that spent shell casings, left behind by hunters during the season, are finding their way into green chop and corn silage that is fed to milk cows. Some have even reportedly been eaten by the cows. Growers report that shell casings are picked up in root crop harvesting machines, too. You are hunting on private property that is intensively worked year after year to produce crops for human food and livestock forage. Growers take pride in caring for their lands and keeping them litter-free and productive. Remember you are on private property by the consent of these landowners. To keep this land open to public hunting, picking up litter is one of the most important things we must do. [ Back to Top ] Avian Influenza and Fraser-Skagit Snow Geese This year snow geese in North America, including Washington's over-wintering population, will be the focus of stepped-up monitoring (sampling and testing) by federal and state authorities for the avian influenza strain known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1). As you have no doubt heard, in the past year this particularly virulent form of avian flu has sickened and killed birds in Asia, Africa and Europe. After close contact with infected domestic birds, more than 100 people in Asia also have died from HPAI H5N1 virus. Since the Fraser-Skagit snow geese nest in the Russian Arctic they have the potential to contact Asian wild bird species that may carry the disease. Although avian flu is making headlines, we emphasize these points: 1. The HPAI H5N1 virus has not been found in North American wild or domestic birds. 2. There is no evidence that properly cooked waterfowl (or domestic poultry) can sicken people. As you harvest snow geese in this program, you may be contacted by state biologists who will conduct a simple sampling procedure. It will not contaminate your birds nor is it even an indication that your birds have the virus. It is part of a randomized collection system that enables the monitoring program to obtain diverse, viable test samples from birds throughout the population at low cost. We ask that you cooperate with samplers in the process, which should not unduly inconvenience you. More on the virus and testing: Avian flu viruses are transmitted among birds through respiratory secretions and fecal droppings. The HPAI H5N1 virus is not easily transmissible from birds to people, but health officials are concerned it could develop into another form that spreads readily from person to person, triggering a global health crisis called a pandemic. General studies of avian influenza in wild birds have been underway in Alaska for several years, with no positive cases of HPAI H5N1 detected to date. Surveillance in Alaska should provide a means of detecting HPAI H5N1 if it enters North America from wild birds migrating from Siberia or other parts of Asia. As mentioned, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is collaborating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on a nationwide surveillance effort for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) in wild birds. The joint surveillance effort in Washington State calls for testing 3,600 hunter-harvested and live captured free-flying wild birds, and 1,500 bird fecal samples. WDFW’s portion of the sampling is funded with $285,000 from the USFWS and $140,000 from USDA. Wild bird sampling focuses on several species of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl most likely to have interacted with Asian migratory birds in the Arctic during the summer. Initial testing of free-flying birds is taking place in the northern Puget Sound area, coastal estuaries and in the northern Columbia Basin. In addition, WDFW is part of a state network for collection and testing of dead birds. Die-offs of multiple wild birds should be reported to WDFW, by calling 1-800-606-8768. If the deaths appear unusual, samples are sent to veterinary laboratories to test for diseases, including avian flu. Common sense precautions: While it is extremely unlikely that hunters or people feeding birds could contract HPAI H5N1 from wild birds here, the following common-sense precautions are always recommended to reduce the risk of contracting any wildlife disease: Do not harvest or handle wild birds that are obviously sick or found dead. Wear rubber gloves while cleaning game or cleaning bird feeders. Do not eat, drink or smoke while cleaning game. Wash hands with soap and water or alcohol wipes immediately after handling game or cleaning bird feeders. Wash tools and work surfaces used to clean game birds with soap and water, then disinfect with a 10 percent solution of chlorine bleach. Separate raw meat, and anything it touches, from cooked or ready-to-eat foods to avoid contamination. Cook game birds thoroughly-meat should reach an internal temperature of 155 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill disease organisms and parasites. Dogs used in wild bird hunting are not considered at great risk of acquiring avian flu, though there have been several cases of the HPAI H5N1 virus infecting dogs. Cats, also are susceptible to the HPAI H5N1 virus. Dog and cat owners should consult their veterinarian for more information about this influenza in pets. Web Sources: for avian influenza information: U.S. Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/home/avianflu/ WDFW facts: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/avian_flu/ai_faq.pdf WDFW Avian Flu Q&A: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/avian_flu/questions.htm [ Back to Top ] What hunters will find on this Fir Island snow goose hunt The thrust of rules governing this hunt is to steer goose hunters away from too low or too high a pass-shooting tactic and even more unruly, unethical and dangerous behaviors such as ground sluicing flocks of birds near roads and buildings. One bad pass-shooting episode last year resulted in a sliding door being shot out of a house. That alone speaks to the concern many Fir Island residents have about hunting. Fir Island setting: Waterfowlers will be hunting in a rural but highly visible and intensively farmed setting. Crop harvests occurred in late September and early October. Field on the left has potatoes (Hunt Unit 1 A), the brown field (Hunt Unit 2A) in the mid ground has drying beet seed on it. Both were planted ton cover crop in mid October. Harvest occurred from dawn to dusk in October. Credits: Doug Huddle, WDFW photos They are sharing this environment with many year-round residents who live on the island as well as hundreds of additional daily commuters and visitors who have come to see and photograph the snow geese. Hunters should expect to have many eyes watching. Though cover crops have been seeded, some parcels were planted later in the fall. Hunters should expect these fields to muddy up after rains or thaws. They should plan accordingly with their garb and gear. Hunt unit layout and setting: Hunt areas are set back from roads and all adjacent residences and out-buildings. They are marked with parking and entry point signs identifying the unit(s). In the units themselves several types of markers and signs will help hunters determine the bounds of their decoy and shooting areas. Bamboo poles painted orange are set at unit corners and along boundary lines adjacent to roads or other units. Hi-visibility signs mark parking and entry points for hunt units. Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photos Orange painted bamboo poles mark hunt unit corners and starts of safety zones. Wooden posts with one foot white PVC cylinders mark approximate center of hunt units. Edge signs along roads will inform other hunters and the public that reserved hunting opportunities are occurring on these lands. Low profile wooden posts will make the approximate center of your shooting area so you can judge the space available to set decoys and blinds. The white PVC plastic pipe (for visibility) can be removed if you think it will distract birds, but please put it back on when you leave. Wooden lathe stakes with arrow signs will point in the direction you need to walk to get to your shooting area. Both these and the wooden center post will have high visibility reflectors for detection with a light in darkness. Be sure to bring a bright, focused-beam flashlight if you plan to enter your unit before daylight. Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Bohannon sets a safety zone sign for barn in background next to a hunt unit corner post. Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photo.  Safety zone signs (red diamond shape) are set along semi circle lines around all adjacent residential dwellings and out buildings. Property lines will be posted with signs indicating “Okay to enter to retrieve downed birds.” Or they will be posted “No Trespassing,” or “Closed Area,” in which case no entry for any reason is allowed. Number one need for hunters: Both new as well as experienced snow goose hunters will have to meet the challenge of perfecting a return to the techniques of calling in and shooting these birds over field decoy sets. Veterans sum up the first, second and third requirements for snow goose hunting success this way. Decoys, decoys, decoys. Six dozen (72 white blocks, silhouettes, shells, bags, rags or any combination thereof) is considered the minimum number of decoys for a viable set. This snow goose spread laid out by the Klesick family of Stanwood in hunt unit 5A on the week of Oct. 23 totals 500 decoys. They shot birds on several days of hunting early in the season. Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photo.  Others will tell you even more, many more, are better. Decoy spreads of four to five hundred or more are often used by guide services. In this inaugural year of the hunt program, a liberal interpretation will be applied to the phrase “snow goose-like decoy.” Managers are encouraging snow goose hunters to use their creativity and expect that the need to be frugal as well as quick in putting together such large strings will result in some interesting and imaginative lures. Besides the standard realistic manufactured block, plastic shell, silhouette and bag type decoys sold on the market, hunters might consider the use of white diapers, white plastic grocery bags, pieces of bed sheet and empty bleach bottles. Motion is good to build into strings with some silhouettes or cutouts configured with wind-powered flapping wings. White grocery bags on bamboo stakes set to pivot and flap in the wind should be included. Pieces of old bed sheet staked to the ground can lure birds with a high angle view. Lightweight, plastic kids’ toboggans make great totes for getting decoys especially shells and full bodies to and from your hunting site. Hiding in plain sight: The next hurdle for this field hunt is your blind. There is little existing cover available on these hunt units. This hunt will occur on cultivated fields, all of which have been planted with either winter wheat or rye grass. It’s ultra flat terrain where the scant natural cover consists of some volunteer vegetation growing along some natural sloughs, field ditches and winter drainage trenches. Hunters in unit 8B set a small spread of decoys near the slough and used its shallow channel for their blind. Credit Paul DeBruyn, WDFW photo These shallow watercourses offer only minimal cover amid the plane of the surrounding fields. If you use them after the rains come, be prepared to wear waders and not just hip boots. Participants will really need to use their creativity to conceal or disguise their presence. Veteran snow goose hunters say that adult snow geese birds quickly learn what threats look like and they will “flare” or shy away from them. Hunters with the time and the money to order them, the pop-up recliner style snow goose individual blinds should work well. There’s not much native cover, but most unit fields have established “greened” up cover crops. Many hunters are using camouflage webbing or cloth in native, dull colored vegetation schemes, including a clumping of leafless shrubs. Some are matching the rye grass green or winter wheat green color. Which ever you use, try to avoid abrupt lines or casting shadows. Old timers also used to hunt the bay front with makeshift portable blinds resembling stumps like the real ones that littered the tide flats or rafted up against the outside of the sea dike. Another gambit that is becoming increasingly popular is simply dressing in white coveralls and lying among a decoy spread. Be sure to bring plastic to separate you from the moist, muddy ground. Hunters also can set decoys close by drainage trenches and sit or kneel in them for some cover. [ Back to Top ] Some finer points of Fir Island snow goose hunting Veteran waterfowl hunters with years of hunting trips under their belts begin to see patterns in the birds’ response to local weather and crop conditions. Hunters of snow geese on Fir Island are no different. Time of season, wind direction and velocity, visibility, prolonged cold snaps and what remains of the cover crop in the reserve all play roles in affecting how the birds fly in from the bay front at daylight, from which direction, how long they stay in the reserve and where they move later in the day. Established more than 10 years ago, the Fir Island/Hayton Snow Goose Reserve located in the south central part of the island between (south of) Fir Island Road and the sea dike is the focal point for these birds as a super flock. It’s the sanctuary they know; the magnet to which they are drawn enmass. Each morning tens of thousands of birds lift off their night roost of Skagit Bay just after daylight and fly inland to the reserve. The way they get there depends in large part the wind’s direction and force. The clear, calm day scenario: On “bluebird” days, where less experienced hunters might be tempted to call it a day shortly after the morning flight comes in high and “parachutes” or spirals down to the reserve, a seasoned hunter will know that when the reserve has been picked over, restive birds will begin almost immediately to filter out to surrounding green fields and those as individuals, pairs and small family groups will provide opportunities throughout the day. In field decoy hunting it will be the singles, pairs and small flights of snow geese that are decoyable. Snow goose morning flights from the bay into the reserve can occur at any time from first light to as late as 10 a.m. depending on weather conditions. It’s during these flights as singles, doubles and small flocks break off and fly out of the reserve that initial shooting opportunities can occur in nearby quality hunt units. Credit: Doug Huddle, WDFW photos.  The southeasterly scenario: South and southeasterly storm winds, a common occurrence in the Puget Sound trough, often push the birds to the northwest as they lift off from the bay at daylight causing them to swing wide out over the North Fork of the Skagit River. The hunt units in this program are situated under the flight path the birds take as they strain to pull themselves back toward the reserve. The stronger the southeasterly, the closer to the deck they fly. Your shots in this scenario are either at any very low flying birds or the young ones (gray juveniles) who see your massed decoy spread as an easy shortstopping alternative to continued struggling for the reserve. The mid- and late-season exchanges: In this scenario, large groups collect in the morning in various green fields on the west and central portion of the island. Then throughout the day, those small decoyable flights move back and forth from one massed flock to another. This is when a snow goose call will come in handy. Unusual allies: The wild card in snow goose movement behavior comes from an interesting source. Bald eagles often come to be viewed as the snow goose hunter’s best friend as they fly randomly across the island riling up birds wherever they go, even flushing big groups from the reserve that often break up or fragment into smaller flights that are easier to lure. If this occurs at some distance from your hunt unit and its decoy spread, consider the tried and true tactic of flag waving, a white tee shirt or flag as a means of attracting far distant birds to your vicinity. As was mentioned above, good sportsmanship, honoring other hunters’ shots and even cooperation between shooters in adjacent hunt units is recommended and will be necessary. For a change of pace: There are state-owned lands open for public recreation, including other waterfowl or pheasant hunting, on the southeast side of the island at the Skagit Wildlife Area as well as along the bay front. As the season gets into full swing there will be lots of hunting activity to view as there are many private hunting clubs occupying much leased acreage on Fir Island. They will offer plenty of valuable what to and how to examples, good learning experiences for new hunters. Web Sources: for travel and weather updates: Washington Department of Transportation: http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/ U.S. Weather Service Seattle: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sew/ [ Back to Top ] Driving Directions Driving directions and maps to hunt areas will be mailed to hunters prior to their hunts. For additional information please call the WDFW Snow Goose Hunting Hotline at (360) 466-4345 ext.245.